THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Alexandre Dumas | Book Review
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- I review the classic revenge story 'The Count of Monte Cristo' by French author Alexandre Dumas, first published in 1846. This book is a long one, and it took many reading sessions to finish. It's one of the best stories ever told, but not without faults.
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I totally disagree with this being poorly written. I I read this book in 3 days. This is true storytelling at it’s finest, and I have never read any classic book that outshines this one. The man left cliffhangers at the end of each chapter and I simply couldn’t put it down. Dumas weaves in universal principles and paints vivid images for the reader to learn from. Obviously, it’s more that just an entertaining story with plots, it’s life lessons, and spirituality. The extra characters made me love the book even more.
Bravo! I totally agree!
Wow 3 days it took be 10 days to finish this epic book
I suspect some translations are better than others. While I would agree that there are a lot of characters to keep track of - some of which are extraneous - I really enjoyed the book as well. I always looked forward to picking it back up. That said, I also prefer balanced reviews like this. I’m not sure I’ve ever greatly enjoyed a piece of media coming to it after a fawning recommendation.
3 days?? What the heck it got me 50 days to get halfway through this
@@shaf1485h10???
I seriously wanted this book too be longer , I loved all the build up and plots, thanks
I think the characters during the “filler” chapters were necessary to the plot. To truly understand the lengths Edmond went to, the amount of study right down to Benedetto’s upbringing and Bertuccios story, to perfectly exact revenge was brilliant! It made him the God that he admits he thinks he is.
I personally loved it.
It does feel like the book starts for the 2nd time after the 10 year time jump, which is as you said is around 300 page mark, and I was put off at first by the lost momentum and new characters but it regained that momentum quick enough, I'd say around after the carnival, which is like page 350-400
The book is one of my favorites.
It has a lot of intrigue and a beautiful exotic princess as the protagonist's love. It reminds me of Julius Caesar in Alexandria and his dispute with Pharaoh Ptolemy and his romance with Queen Cleopatra.
I’m sorry you struggled so much with the middle part. To me, this book is greatly profound in its exploration of philosophical themes and not just good Vs evil like some books hint at. On a path to revenge is it easy to lose sight of the intended goal. Hatred turns Edmund blind and he just wants to destroy everything everyone who harmed him owns, loves and is tied to. The children of those who wronged him are innocent and we scream at The Count to back off. Our love shifts from sympathy for Edmund to horror at The Count and back to sympathy when he leaves Albert alone. This book is one of the wildest rides I’ve ever had and every re-read I get something new. I re-read it almost every year. Also, it was probably the 4th read before I saw the same sex love interest because I just never would’ve thought that about a book written it that time. It was a pleasant Easter egg. And yes, he may have milked it a little, I imagine it’s how he got to pay bills and live.
I think this book would certainly benefit from multiple readings like you have done. It has the depth to justify it! Thanks for watching.
Finesse is a thing of the past and misunderstood today.
Loved the comment in the move _The Shawshank Redemption_ when one of the cons picks up a volume of this and says haltingly, "The Count of Monte Cristo..by Alexandree..Dumb Ass..".
The hero of the movie replies, "You'll like it. It's about a prison break."
If desired, the _entire_ audio book is on UA-cam in four parts - each is 15 hours long!
I would expect a this book to mirror the count’s meticulous planning and attention to detail. Hence the “unnecessary” prose.
Loved this book and utterly brilliant ! Very good story and many gems hidden in the book such as the difference between men and animals highlighted in the execution scene where Dumas shows how only people do things out of spite and not need ! Disagree with much of this critique !
Nice channel. I read in the description of the video that the goal of this channel is to, "promote critical thinking and learning". It is a noble goal and the review gave quite an interesting perspective since I myself held a completely different view of this book. I appreciated the food for thought with the arguments you presented. And so I hope u take into consideration a suggestion I have regarding your reviews. You put up some interesting points like how there are apparently repetitive phrases and such in the book or how u found some of the characters unnecessary, but I was unable to grasp the entirety of ur argument because i was hoping for u to elaborate upon those points with exact quotes or moments from the book (this is in regards to the first half of ur video). For example, what exactly made u think that the original characters were sufficient to carry the lessons or the story that the book is mainly trying to put forward. OR which of the characters did u specifically feel were unnecessary and what trait or reasons made u feel that way. That would have aided in further really breaking down the points you made. I did take note that u roughly mention the example of Abbe Faria talking about people's kids and grandkids endlessly for some reason. That gave context to ur argument in a way I'd like to hear more often. Regardless, it was an interesting video that had my attention since the moment u read the first quote at the start of the video. Its diverse opinions like yours that make a book more interesting to go back to and question on a deeper level. I can say that u successfully made me think about the book in a more 'critical' way.
The point of this book is to not read it all at once.
You need to give it some time to sink in over time just as it was written by Dumas.
Dumas does a great job in making us feel empathy for villains, and that vengeance isn’t so sweet after all.
I loved the book. And I loved the middle, the “filler”. But Great review, I love to hear other peoples opinion.
Glad you liked the book (and the review) 👌
I have a different edition of this book but never felt like reading it. Great review.
It’s taxing but ultimately worth it. Maybe you’d appreciate the slower prose than me, haha. Thanks for checking it out!
I'm fortunate to not have ever laid my eyes on a physical copy of the book otherwise I'd never have been tempted to listen to the audio book. But I was spontaneous in choosing a classic to listen to, so I downloaded it and was astounded that it's 52 hrs long! 😭 Since I'd already downloaded it, I was committed to listen to it. I enjoyed it, immensely. I hight recommend
It’s basically a soap opera with a brilliant premise. I love it but yes there is plenty of filler
I think this might be the problem or at least one of the problems: It looks like you're holding the Everyman's Library edition of The Count of Monte Cristo. If that's the translation of The Count of Monte Cristo that you read too, then that's a translation from 1846 known as the Chapman-Hall translation. Peter Washington only slightly revised the Chapman-Hall translation for Everyman's Library. However, the Chapman-Hall translation is known to have omissions and other issues, and in general isn't considered to be a great translation.
Probably the best available translation in English today is the Robin Buss translation. I forget if Lawrence Ellsworth has a translation as well. If he does, his translation should also be excellent. Ellsworth is working on The Three Musketeers series of books and he's considered the gold standard for many if not most of Dumas's novels now.
In any case, it might be worth trying to read The Count of Monte Cristo in the Buss translation or the Ellsworth translation if Ellsworth has also done a translation of The Count of Monte Cristo.
By the way, there's both a Count of Monte Cristo film as well as a mini series coming out this year. So it should be a good year to get back into the book.
The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorite books of all time. I read it in the Buss translation. Happy reading or rereading! Or just enjoying the movie and/or mini series if you watch them. 😊
Robin Buss version is the Penguin Classics edition. Glad I purchased that one instead of the Everyman's Library edition!
@@kathaiti Yeah, the Penguin Classics (Buss) is wonderful. Sadly I wish they would do an Everyman's Library edition since Everyman's Library is much nicer aesthetically but the translation is much worse. There's a Penguin Classics clothbound edition but it's not as good as Everyman's Library in terms of look and feel. And Penguin Random House own Everyman's Library so I'm not sure why they can't use the Buss translation. Oh well. The black spine Penguin Classics is still a good edition for the price.
@@pattube Have you read Les Miserable? If you have, which translation is better?
@@kathaiti I have! I really like the Christine Donougher translation. There are others that are decent, but I think she's quite good. By the way, for Dumas (not Hugo), Lawrence Ellsworth is working on the Three Musketeers cycle of books and he's fantastic as well. I'd say Buss and especially Ellsworth are especially good for Dumas. I forget if Ellsworth has done Les Miserables, but if he has then Ellsworth would also be excellent. I can speak and read French but I often come away with a better understanding using their English translations! (And I have a lot to say about Jules Verne but I'll stop for now since it's probably way too much information!)
@@pattube THANKS! 🙂
@4:25 Imagine how mundane life was for the general public back in 1846.
I agree entirely and am glad I am not alone in this! I do not mind a long book as long as it is relevant to the plot! It is a great story, but the many "filler" chapters made the book a slog at times.
A fellow reviewer on you tube happened to say this book is better than the Three Musketeers. My bones totally frosted. Musketeers and on the Road are my two favorite books both of which I consider great literature. My guidelines have more to do with influencing culture and the average guy across time with style and creativity. When in college I was concerned with the common folk and skewering my upper upper middle class. Anyways. Thanks for your channel.
I thought the same thing! the first 300 pages were amazing, and then it became a bit of a chore to read because it gets so confusing with so many new characters. glad it's not just me.
I read the book first time with Cliff Notes not because the themes were too dense, but because you need to keep up with people using 2-3 names.
@@joeykonyha2414 I finished it tonight. I found a character map online that I printed out so I could refer to it as needed. Helped immensely! I’m of the camp that the first part of the book is amazing, then runs a bit long, and finally wraps up well.
I totally agree=! Great story .but give me a break unnecessary info. Never felt that way with Tolstoy who also writes long books
Currently reading the Count of Monte Cristo so going to stop the video short until I have read it! Hope you are reading something good.
The only part I don't understand is the whole explanation of luigi vampa's life...Perhaps someone could tell me why it is so long and precise despite the overall very small part he has to play in the whole story...He could have been replaced by any other bandit and it wouldn't have changed anything in my opinion...otherwise I've read the book a dozen times and will read it again in the future....
P.S. Je suis francophone donc je le lis dans sa langue original. I'm trying to perfect my spanish in order to read Don quixote at the moment and I hope to be able to learn Arabic before I die just to read the thousand nights and other books. People who don't read don't understand...
I just finished the book today. I loved the first half of the book so much, I was thinking that this might actually be my favorite book of all time. Just the themes are so cool: revenge, bandits, treasure, etc. But as Edmond's character progressed I started not to like him or the book as much and I was kind of rooting for the other characters against him haha (especially Villefort)
That's the point, you're not supposed to like him. Turns out being a stone cold killer with a vengeance does not exactly make a likeable character.
I just finished this and yeah, you nailed it. Great premise, awesome main character, but then I had to sift through 500 pages about Valentine, who I didn't care about at all, in order to get to the real pay off. Definitely felt like Dumas was milking it for the sake of serialization.
I don't mind the length itself, it just needs to stay compelling. But with this, it felt like I had to pay the reading tax before I could get to the interesting bits.
Now, that's not to say I didn't enjoy reading it; it was a fun book, and the web Dumas spins is quite impressive. There were just too many subplots that felt more like filler, many of which weren't very believable.
The last thing I'll say is that Max Morrel was an annoying drama queen. Anyone who threatens to kill himself in order to manipulate a woman into doing what he wants is a punk ass bitch.
Max and Valentine felt like discount Romeo and Juliet.
Don't you think it would be a bit difficult for the count to realise that things have gone too far without the Max and Valentine subplot, though?
@@connorp8408the title of the chapter where we first see their love is “Pyramus and Thisbe” which is the myth that Romeo and Juliet is based on
I took Benjamin Mcevoy’s advice to read it as a it was released - as a series. That was sound advice in my opinion, I kept wanting to keep reading when chewing small bites.
We are too dependent on translation. I just finished robin buss translation. Was very good but involved to distraction.
This review is as overlong as the book and could easily have been a good 5 minute video instead of 15 minutes of rambling.
3 weeks to read!! it would take me 6 months
That's like 6 pages a day
There is another commentator that advise reading 10 pages a day.
I feel the same regarding the length of the novel. What I found boring were the dialogues in which the characters took over the narration of the author and kept repeating them as in a conversation. But indeed, the first volum is magnificent : style, suspense, subject, characters. Yet during the remaining three volums ( there are 4 in the original French version ) there are interesting chapters, in which human types of the French society from the 19th century are described. For example, I liked the sting set up at the telegraph station by Dantes to make Danglars loose money. But make sure, you, yourself do talk intellingently about the novel and do not repeat yourself when you refer to the serial publication. I still have to fight the last 550 pages of the last volum.
Ohhh...I am snitching you Tom,
your not allowed to have real books in the Tower... so I don't blame your inadequate review, from an actual Literary Genius.
Voldamoratron is watching...
It was basically a Manga before manga was a thing
This review is painful. Just read abridged books next time lol
The count is also a textbook Mary Sue character. A god-like creature who is in control in all situations and perfect in every way. He is expert at every activity. He fascinates men and women equally wherever he goes. A bit tiring.
Crap. You're kind of right. I will push back a bit that he DOES have to internally 'suffer' after seeing the death of Villefort's son. If that level of omnipotents is an automatic marry sue - then would somebody like Joker in Dark Knight not also count?
Ive seen the big Hollywood version of the story starring Jim Caviezel and I've seen the made for tv version starring the brilliant Richard Chamberlain and even though i haven't read the novel, i still love the tv movie, it's still as brilliant to watch now as it was years ago. And coincidentally it was Richard Chamberlain's portrayal of King Louis/ Phillip in the fantastic The Man In The Iron Mask (another made for tv movie ) which i love watching, the big hollywood version as lavish as it was with it's costumes & sets was....instantly forgettable. Leonardo di Capri maybe a good actor but he doesn't have Richard Chamberlain's talent or charisma ( in my opinion ). Getting back to The Count Of Monte Cristo, one thing that i found odd and maybe you could help explain this or give me your opinion, the moment when Edmund finds the hidden treasure and shouts in excitement to let his newly found friends that he has found what he set off to look for, WHY didn't those friends overpower Edmund and take the treasure for themselves?? It's a noble & honourable thing that they were willing to help Edmund take the treasure back to the ship/boat and bask in the joy of their friends new found wealth and good fortune, perhaps it's pushing the boundaries of being noble and honourable to the limits, after all there aren't many who wouldn't be tempted by seeing such a vast fortune. I'd love to know what your thoughts are as you clearly have read the novel. Thankyou😊
Never read it . A lot of Writers had a lot of padding back then because they got paid by the sentence or the word . Even Edgar Allan Poe’s. excellent The Purloined Letter was verbose and could have been whittled down a little bit . Anyway the best filmed version of this that I have seen is the 1975 version with Richard Chamberlain and Tony Curtis . Allegedly it is the one closest to the novel . I am an old man now and after recommending the 1975 version I just can’t help myself in proclaiming , “” I had hair back then!”
Another fun review, thanks James. I never knew the plot for this, and hearing about it made me think of the Alfred Dreyfus affair in the 1890s France, and how he must have felt like Dantès, or worse, the sole prisoner on devil’s island, poor bloke 🏝
~ if i ever read this I’ll definitely do the abridged version. Thanks fella 📚😌
I’m reading this now and have noticed the same thing. I’m at the chapter where he is buying the house and hearing of Bertuccios assassination of Villefort. It feels like the book should be starting to wrap up but I noticed vast amounts still to go. Should I skip some chapters?
The book as I say has a LOT of filler. In terms of skipping chapters, i’m not sure. Wiki does explain each chapter though if you at some point want to. 🤙
I think the novel ended up being constracted on a spiral, new generations same characters, same thoughts, same situations, same sentiments, for whatever goes from you, comes back to you.
I think it was fascinating to find out that this book was loosely based on the author's father, along with The Three Musketeers. And I would agree that the middle of the book sent us off onto unnecessary tangents.
It sounds a bit long for me, I might try and read the abridged edition. Excellent review nonetheless.
Thanks for checking out the review. It is fairly long and I would be interested to see if the abridged edition is any good. Cheers
@@AheadOfTheCurveVideos I shall get back to you about the abridged version!
Sorry but this is a bad review. And also at least read Dumas correctly....
What makes it a bad review? And how does one “read Dumas correctly?”. Thanks for watching
@@AheadOfTheCurveVideos its an okay review but you were repeating the same point for most of it, which is ironic considering the point you are making was about Dumas not being concise
Definitely a very useful review and I will take your input when I read this. I’m currently reading LOTR but I might choose monte cristo after. Definitely don’t want to waste time reading bullshit nonsense for 600 pages. Indeed this book does sound overwritten so you’re not wrong at all to tell us that. This actually sounds like a really good review. So from what I understand, the first 300 pages are good, then the next 600 are useless as you describe. So, I want to skip the useless stuff entirely. Can you please specifically tell me which chapters to read and which to avoid? Thank you
Thanks for watching! Yeah, I share the same concerns with filler pages. I can’t specifically tell you which chapters etc as such, as I would first recommend reading it and seeing what you think, but if you run into any boredom then don’t be afraid to skip some pages where necessary!
Maybe you can get yourself an abridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo? Seems like the best option if you don't want to read the 1,300 pages :)
I just cant get over the parts about drug taking and other characters traveling for leissure. I want my vengeance ridden count cunningly planning and seeing everything unravel before us.
I'm fine removing alllll of the Max and Valentine stuff.
Villefort's wife - fine with the poisoning angle.
Kadarose was interesting, I love the Rain of Blood chapter. But I'm fine removing that.
The ideology talk between Cristo and Villefort's is very good!
I usually just skip to post-break out for my rereads .
Favorite book, favorite story, and favorite movie. But I'd like to trim it quite a bit.
Arguing on some pages being unnecessary and Duma should not have written it just makes you ridiculous buddy, don't try to correct one of the greatest writer of all time. Don't be feeble minded arrogant
A “great writer” should be immune from honest criticism? That’s absurd. If my criticism is inconsistent then that’s arguable, but to suggest any writer is infallible… ridiculous.